


Raven's Nest Burning

by sheskyripa



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Fire, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, POV Andrew Minyard, Pet Names, Protective Andrew Minyard, Raven Neil Josten, Ravens versus Foxes Final Game, Secret Relationship, Soft Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:41:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29204520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheskyripa/pseuds/sheskyripa
Summary: While Andrew and the Foxes were in the stadium parking lot, next to the team bus, waiting for Wymack to appear, Evermore's East Tower exploded.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 13
Kudos: 327





	Raven's Nest Burning

**Author's Note:**

> Here I am once again posting Raven Neil fic. What can I do? I love this plot. 
> 
> So this fic corresponds to what would happen in [in secret](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956028) if I hadn't changed my mind on some details in the middle of the way. I really wanted to write and publish this fic, so here it is! I hope you like it.
> 
> This chapter was beta-ed by [repellomuggletum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/repellomuggletum/pseuds/repellomuggletum) , thanks again :)<3

Andrew was exhausted. 

Playing an entire game was always exhausting, but playing an entire game against the  _ Ravens _ was even more so, especially since Andrew made sure to stop every shot that Riko and Neil made. Riko because Andrew hated the son of a bitch and seeing him get increasingly more and more frustrated was incredibly satisfying and Neil because, well, his predatory smile grew with every avoided goal and Andrew knew Neil would make him pay later. Andrew loved it when Neil took revenge on him during their dates. 

His relationship with the Ravens' striker was not new, but it was a secret and both Andrew and Neil preferred it that way, without the annoying intrusion of the Foxes and especially without Riko having something to finally use against Neil after many unsuccessful attempts to break him. It had started during their first winter Class I league banquet when they were eighteen, where they started the night exchanging passive-aggressive barbs just like every time Foxes and Ravens found themselves in the same place, and ended it locked in a bathroom with their mouths pressed together and their pants down. 

It was supposed to be a one-night stand, an accident that stayed a mere memory, but Neil continued to go out of his way to hunt Andrew down often, and Andrew kept texting him late at night, trading truths and- of course- more barbs. 

It took them a whole year of this to acknowledge that the casual affair was no longer quite so casual. It's been three years since then, counting from the day Neil called to ask Andrew to meet him at a motel near Palmetto University, nervous and angry. Andrew was there, of course he was. 

There, Neil told him he had found out what Riko wanted to do to Andrew for agreeing to protect Kevin and being responsible for the Foxes reaching the semifinals. Apparently, Riko had paid Andrew's old foster brother- someone called Drake- to attack him and leave him unable to play long enough for the Foxes to be disqualified. 

Neil hadn't known much about Drake at the time, but he was still almost desperate to prevent Andrew from getting hurt, no matter the consequences. 

"Why do you care?” Andrew remembers forcing past numb lips, the flood of sensations and memories not letting him think of anything but passive-aggressiveness. 

"Because I love you, you damn idiot!" Neil had shouted, desperate, "God help me, but I love you." 

Kissing Neil that night had been- different. Their actions were no longer desperate and frenzied, but calm and slow, as if they were enjoying the moment for the first time. 

The whistle that ended the game sounded loud in Andrew's ears, jerking him out of his thoughts.

Exhausted, Andrew leaned his racket on the floor and supported his weight on it while breathing heavily. He could hear screams and boos from the audience directed at the Foxes, so he lifted his head to look at the scoreboard to see the victor. "Foxes. Evidently Kevin had scored at the last second. They had won the Championship. 

Andrew's eyes searched for Neil, finding him sitting on the court floor, his head thrown back. He was still wearing a helmet, but Andrew knew his junkie was smiling. Neil might be a Raven, but he hated them almost as much as Andrew did. 

The Foxes had won, Riko would die that night and Andrew would meet Neil sometime later that night to celebrate. 

Andrew was heading for the showers, already out of all the heavy uniforms they wore to play when his cell phone vibrated in his hand. He knew it was Neil before he even looked- he only had notifications turned on for his number. 

**_cupcake:_ ** _ I booked a room at the hotel where you will be staying  _

**_cupcake:_ ** _ room 205 _

**_cupcake:_ ** _ I put the other key in your bag when I was benched. _

**_cupcake:_ ** _ you can either wait for me there or wait for me to get out of here _

**_cupcake:_ ** _ I don't know what time I’ll get out of here, because Ichirou is here and he will probably have a 'little party' at the East Tower even though we haven't won.  _

**_cupcake:_ ** _ you-know-who hasn't left with me and jean today :)  _

Andrew understood what Neil wasn't saying in the last message: Riko wouldn't leave there alive. That was almost enough for a smile to grow on Andrew's face , but he suppressed the traitorous twitch of his lips. 

**_Andrew:_ ** _ I will wait for you there.  _

**_Andrew:_ ** _ grab a couple of those brownies for me.  _

  
  


An hour later, while Andrew and the Foxes were in the stadium parking lot, next to the team bus, waiting for Wymack to appear, Evermore's East Tower exploded. 

Andrew had to control his emotions, both to prevent himself from doing something that certainly wouldn't help the situation and to prevent _Kevin_ from doing something that would _certainly_ make the situation worse. 

Andrew knew that Neil was in that damn Tower and all he could do was wait and trust that Neil's skills were enough to get him out of there alive. No other option was acceptable. Neil was  _ not  _ going to die. 

Andrew paced outside the bus, clenching his hands into fists compulsively, trying to prevent his mind from thinking up the worst scenarios possible. He couldn't sit on the bus, as Wymack had ordered; he couldn't be in there with the Foxes clearly finding it amusing that part of the Ravens' stadium was now destroyed.

Andrew was tired, but for another reason now. 

He tried, but was unable to avoid his brain forming the image of Neil panicking inside that Tower because of his fear of fire and failing to get out; he imagined him coughing because of the smoke and that together with the tiredness of having just played a difficult game making him give up.

Andrew punched the parking rail, ignoring the twinge of pain in his hand, before settling on the ground against the bus. 

He took the pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket and lit one, inhaling and using the smoke to ease the tension that was running through his body at that moment. 

In the background, the annoying clang of sirens started to sound closer, as Andrew's mind blanked. He clenched his fists. He  _ would not _ have a panic attack. Neil was alive. Neil was too irritating to die. Someone had once said that a bad pot doesn't break, and Neil was nothing but a little devil and  _ he wasn't dead _ . 

There were people surrounding him now. Lifting his head, Andrew saw Allison, Dan and Renee stretching their legs. Matt and Seth were talking about something Andrew couldn't hear. Kevin was having a panic attack a little further away from the bus, with Nicky worriedly fluttering around him. 

Aaron was standing over Andrew. He had  _ that  _ look on his face, probably noticing his bleeding hand and Andrew ensured that his expression retained its customary blankness, that the turmoil in his mind stayed just there- locked away in his mind.

Andrew was about to say something sarcastic to get Aaron to stop hovering when his cell phone started vibrating in his pocket. He jumped to his feet and answered without even looking, he knew it was Neil's number. 

" _ Drew,"  _ said Neil in a tearful voice, and Andrew almost sighed with relief at finally having confirmation he was not dead. When his brain registered that Neil was  _ whining,  _ he didn't have time to worry about it before Neil continued. " _ Drew, my arm ... I ... I ..." _

"Where are you." Andrew's voice was normal, but Aaron seemed to have seen through his apathetic mask as he was looking at Andrew with his eyebrows drawn together. The foxes around them seemed to notice Aaron’s confusion as they also stopped what they were doing to look at Andrew curiously. 

“ _ One of the ambulances. Drew I need... ” _

Andrew hung up before he could say anything else, turning on his heel and practically running toward where he could see the ambulance lights.

"Minyard, where do you think you're going?" shouted Wymack, but Andrew did not deign to answer. He just needed to get to Neil and see for himself that he was okay. 

Andrew was aware of how much Neil hated fire. His mother had been cremated to ensure that the signs of abuse and torture she endured at the end of her life were no longer evident. He also knew that Nathan Wesninski used this against Neil, burning him whenever he felt like it, playing with a lighter while scolding him. Neil would be on the verge of collapse by now. 

Andrew found him sitting in the ambulance, with an oxygen mask on his face and his arm completely bandaged. His cell phone was in his other hand and Neil was looking at the device distantly. Andrew sped up.

"Get out of my way," he snarled at one of the paramedics who tried to stop him. Andrew would bring the man down if he had to.  _ No one was  _ going to stop him from reaching Neil, who had now spotted Andrew and was clearly trying to remove his mask and run up to him. "Don't take it off," Andrew ordered, pushing past the man.

Neil's left arm was not completely immobilized, so it was not difficult for Andrew to hug him. They didn't do that much, hugging, especially in public, but Andrew had discovered a long time ago that the best way to keep Neil grounded during a panic attack was to let him hold on to Andrew. 

Neil didn't seem to mind the mask on his face and nestled his head in the crease between Andrew's neck and shoulder, holding him close. Andrew put his hand on Neil's neck and started gently massaging the spot, rubbing circles onto his skin.

A full minute passed before Neil moved away- just far enough to remove the mask and throw it aside. Andrew didn't have time to complain about it before he quickly snuggled up again and whispered "Riko is dead. The fire was Ichirou's idea; his way of making sure that no one gets suspicious. ” 

Andrew tensed. His hands fisted in Neil's clothes and he prevented his whole body from shaking while his mind screamed for him to hunt down the bastard and rip him apart. He  _ had _ killed Riko and rid the world of that piece of shit, but he had also hurt Neil in the process. "Easy, babe" Neil kissed his neck. "Not worth it. He's not even here anymore. ” 

"I thought he was at the Tower with you," Andrew said. 

"He was, but just for long enough to drug Riko so he couldn't escape and ensure Jean and I couldn’t get out too fast." Neil's body shook and Andrew held him tighter. "He said it would be suspicious if Jean and I escaped without any damage while Riko died." 

A paramedic separated them. Andrew glared at him as he moved between him and Neil, but stayed quiet, crossing his arms. The paramedic changed Neil's bandages "You have first-degree, almost second-degree burns, and I strongly recommend that you go to a hospital which can treat you further and also just in case. Your case is not a serious one, so you will need to go on your own, the ambulances are still needed here. Excuse me. " after saying which he left, leaving Andrew and Neil alone.

Neil had that lost look again and Andrew was sure he hadn't registered anything after the word 'burn' so he took over the situation."Are your keys on you? " 

As if in a trance, Neil pulled the chain around his neck with his good hand, revealing the four keys he wore on the chain - his and Andrew's car key, the key to Andrew's house in Columbia and the key to the apartment he was using which he had bought after his father died and he got access to the bank account. Andrew took the chain and wrapped it around his wrist. "Can you walk or would you prefer me to bring the car over here, sweetheart?" 

"I can walk." Neil jumped out of the ambulance, but Andrew had to help him stand for a moment before he stabilized. 

They walked in silence to the parking lot. Andrew had to stop Neil from fiddling with his bandages every ten seconds until he got irritated and held his hand for the rest of the way. 

Neil's car was close to the entrance that led to the Ravens' underground dorms, which meant it was also close to where the Foxes' bus was parked, meaning Kevin, Wymack and Dan could see them from where they were sitting on the steps of the bus. Andrew didn't spare them more than a glance before unlocking the car and helping Neil into the passenger seat. He was still hidden from them, but that changed the instant he rounded the car. 

"Minyard, what the hell are you doing?" shouted Dan, the first to spot him. Hearing her, the other Foxes turned to look at him and the ones in the bus stuck their heads out the window. Nosy. Aaron and Nicky started to approach him. Kevin seemed to understand what was going on and was quiet, looking at the car with a heavy look, Andrew started to open the door when she shouted again, "Andrew! Get away from that car! If that shit sets off the alarm we're going to have problems! Andrew! ” 

"Minyard, where the hell do you think you're going?" Wymack shouted. Andrew knew him well enough to know that he was more curious about what was going on than angry. 

"Going to take my boyfriend to the hospital, any objections to that, Coach?" Andrew asked faux casually. Taking advantage of the shocked silence he got in the car and started it. Neil had opened the window, so he could unfortunately still hear them and their yelled questions. 

"Boyfriend? What boyfriend, Andrew? Andrew! ”

“Kevin, did you know about this?” 

“I thought Kevin was his boyfriend.” 

“Does this mean that I lost the bet?” 

“That’s what you’re concerned about? He’s dating a fucking _ Raven _ for God’s sake.”

Andrew sped out of the lot, leaving the foxes speculating wildly behind him. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/sheskyripa)


End file.
